Pfizer to lay off U.S. sales reps

Drugmaker Pfizer Inc. plans to cut an undisclosed number of U.S. sales positions.

The job cuts at the New York-based company, which makes Viagra, Lipitor and the antidepreseent Pristiq, will come from segments of its sales force that promote drugs to primary-care physicians, according to a Dow Jones report.

Pfizer told sales representatives in some regions Friday that those who will be laid off will be notified by Dec. 20.

Pfizer spokesman MacKay Jimeson told Dow Jones the job reductions is part of a "strategy to allocate our resources, investments and people to the areas that best serve our patients and customers.”

"As a result, we are making changes in some segments of our field force to better match the future needs of the business," he said.

Pfizer has seen some sales declines this year due to competition from generic drugs. Sales of its popular cholestrol drug Lipitor have plummeted since its patent expired last year.

Pfizer, which had more than 103,000 employees at the end of 2011, has cut nearly 50,000 people since 2005, according to Dow Jones.